Restaurant Review-Chicago Fire in Folsom

Chicago Fire is Sacramento and Folsom California's most popular place to taste authentic Chicago Pizza. It opened its first location in Folsom in February of 2003. The main theme of Chicago Fire is to serve unique and authentic Chicago-style pizza. The most popular orders of their Chicago Pizza favorite is a flaky deep dish, gourmet stuffed, or the popular choice of Chicagoan’s, crispy wafer thin crust, which is served in sliced squares. They have a simple menu and sometimes a long wait, but it has always been worth the wait every time I have gone there. They offer a full table service, a full bar, a great selection of wines to choose from, and a more upscale environment to enjoy pizza at a reasonable price.

When I first went to Chicago Fire, I intended to try their thin crust pizza by recommendation of my friends. It is rated the best thin crust pizza in the area. Not only was it the best in the entire Sacramento area, but it was just as good as thin crust pizza I had in Chicago two summers ago. In Chicago, we've found the pizzerias tend to use a corn flour dough, which gives the pie a grainy consistency. The owner told us that Chicago Fire uses wheat flour which produces a smooth texture.

My friends ordered random appetizers that were equally as delicious such as, artichoke, chicken wings, spinach salad, and their signature Margherita pizza, which of course had to be enjoyed with a pitcher of margaritas. The salad was awesome and the artichoke was a perfect starter for the group. The margaritas were a bit on the sweet side but the fact that we could get them in pitcher form made up for it.

Their menu claims that, "The crust is wafer thin and has no rolled edge. The toppings are placed under the cheese and the pizza is cooked on the stone deck of a very hot pizza oven, resulting in a crust that is thin, light and crispy. The browning of the cheese and areas of chocolate brown/black crust is a sign of the authenticity of this pizza" .We had the "Traditional" and the crust was a delicious flavored crunchy with fresh chopped tomato, basil, garlic, olive oil, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. We also had the spinach salad which had fresh spinach, crumbled bacon, crumbled egg, red onion, homemade spinach dressing & homemade croutons. Everything was delicious even the mojitos we ordered, from their 15-year experienced bar tender.

When we first arrived, we did have to wait for our table, so they gave us a hand held "beeper' that lit up with red dots when our table was ready and it took about a half hour. There are many places within walking distance to pass the time so we decided to go directly across the street and do some wine tasting there. We had some fabulous wine and the owner had just bought the store, surrounding art galleries are also a must see.

 We expected that there would be a wait for the restaurant. There is both indoor and outdoor seating. We were seated in a very large booth surrounded by glass in an open and light part of the restaurant. The great food and drinks made up for the lacking service, we repeatedly had to find our server and ask for water, and to be refilled or for a second order of drinks. Most people seem to overlook the sometimes poor service experience, because the food is worth it. I would say that this is definitely a place worth visiting!